We love our herbs and use green as many times as we can in almost every recipe. Fresh herbs add flavor to any dish. If your herbs are potted, bring them inside when outdoor gardening season comes to an end. We dehydrate ours and make spice blends. (You will see the tiny jars sitting pretty in our pantry for sale at the bistro.)

Riley our resident baker sometimes referred to as “sugar daddy” just made something fabulous. A mint chocolate chip cookie. Not a mint flavored cookie, a made-from-scratch cookie with real mint. How did he do it? The key is mixing the fresh mint in when you cream the butter and sugar. (See photo)

High-end herbal salts have become a thing, so why not herbal sugars? Here are five herbs that can really add an extra boost to drinks, dishes and deserts.

Lavender buds
Peppermint leaf
Rose hips
Clove buds
Spearmint leaf

Choose from whole cane sugar, coconut sugar, turbinado sugar, brown sugar or granulated sugar when making your herbal sugar. They can be made with fresh or dried herbs. Store in an airtight container for up to two months. When substituting herbal sugar in baking, use the same amount of sugar the recipe calls for.

Enjoy!